The hoods are to keep glare off the sights and in the case of the front sight, offer a layer of protection. My 5.5 Pro Target has the hoods I kind of like them but the rear hood will probably need to come off if you add an optic, I left the front sight hood on as to keep that tiny little post safe from dents and dings. I'm not sure if the Silhouette has the same fragile front sight or not but it's something to keep in mind.

The hoods don't really bother me, but I can see why some wouldn't like them. Try it both ways and see which you like better.